The HVAC industry is one of the select few predicted to continue growing in the next few years. The global HVAC systems market will reportedly experience a compound annual growth rate of 5.9% until 2028 to reach $197.50 billion by that year.
To say that it’s critical to develop a competitive plan involving your HVAC ads is an understatement. Failing to do so could cause your business to become a distant afterthought to consumers.
You might be wondering, which HVAC advertising strategies will work best for your business? In this article, we will highlight the top HVAC advertising ideas you can utilize to attract more clients in 2022 and beyond.
Proven HVAC Advertising Strategies
Start by Earning the Trust of your Clients
Before any of your clients let you into their homes, they need to be sure they can trust their HVAC service provider completely. One of the proven ways to start on the right foot with them is by detailing your wealth of experiences on your company page. You need to let your HVAC clients know essential information, such as your service areas and updated contact information they need to get in touch with.
Also, utilize informational blog posts to establish yourself as one of the expert figures in the industry. These blogs will also help you gain the trust of potential clients by addressing the concerns they might have.
Keep in mind that the first thing most customers do nowadays is to go online to learn more about a particular company before hiring its services. Therefore, ensure you’re making a great first impression with prospective customers.
Craft a Well-Designed Website
In this time and age, most people perform their research online. This trend makes it crucial for you to develop an HVAC website that will help them pick you for the job once they get there.
Not just any website to put your heating and cooling ads will do. It has to be attractive and should look professional. In case you’re wondering why meeting these criteria is critical, you should know that consumers judge your business based on how your website looks.
This Web Credibility study from Stanford also shows that you need to include important marketing elements to convert your site visitors into paying clients. These elements include:
- Your About Us page with actual photos of you and your team
- Your contact information that’s readily visible on every page of your website
- You can use lead capture forms to offer discounts by signing up or subscribing to your newsletter.
Finally, you should ensure your website is SEO-optimized. SEO as your primary marketing strategy will help your HVAC site perform well against your competitors and bring in more leads.
Run a PPC Campaign
You can run a Google ad using specific keywords with Google’s pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platform. Specifically, you can bid on certain keywords, such as HVAC services. When someone searches for that keyword, your ad is the first to appear on Google results pages.
The best part of PPC advertising is that you only have to pay when someone clicks on your advertisement. Meanwhile, it may be disadvantageous because you risk losing money if those clicks don’t turn into clients. Since the HVAC niche is so competitive, you’re likely to end up spending a lot to be on page one of Google.
When starting, allocate a small daily budget first and experiment with your PPC ads. You can play around with them as many times as you want to determine what works best for you.
Establish Trust Through Reviews and Testimonials
Another way to earn your customers’ trust is through reviews and testimonials. Now that information is more accessible to consumers than ever, it’s also easier for them to read online feedback. A recent Local Consumer Review survey shows that 77% of consumers regularly read online reviews when browsing for local businesses. Doing this helps them form an informed opinion of a particular business based on testimonials from previous clients.
On your part, you need to request feedback from your customers about their experience with your company. If you end up receiving a negative review (which is bound to happen at some point), you need to address it right away.
It turns out that 57% of customers say they’re not likely to use a business that doesn’t respond to reviews.
Get into Seasonal Advertising
As with other strategies, marketing or otherwise, timing plays a critical role in HVAC advertising. Having said that, you need to know when to get your campaign in full swing.
In the HVAC industry, homeowners are more likely to require your services in the summer and winter. Kickstart your ad campaign at least six to eight weeks before peak season. Timing your efforts with your HVAC ads will give you an edge over your competitors and let your potential and existing clients know who to call exactly.
Utilize a Referral Program to Attract More Business
According to Nielsen research, 83% of consumers trust the recommendations of people they know. It isn’t hard to understand why. Of course, we’ll trust people we know personally compared to strangers online or a company trying to sell you something.
Trust is essential when running HVAC ads. Since HVAC services are costly, it’s understandable that consumers want to ensure they’re getting the best value for their investment.
Offering perks as part of a referral program is a fantastic way to make your customers share their experiences with people they know. These referrals can generate valuable leads and potentially generate more revenue for your business.
Make sure to promote the referral program to each customer. One way to do it is to hand out a card after finishing a job or attach it at the end of your client’s receipt.
Ramp Up Your Social Media Advertising
At least 74% of consumers use their social media platforms to make a purchase decision. Although this figure isn’t a secret in the information age, a measly 26% of businesses integrate social media into their business strategy.
Don’t make the same mistake. Make sure that you adopt social media as part of your heating and cooling advertisement ideas to achieve one or all of the following:
- Engage existing and prospective clients
- Advertise services, promotions, and more
- Share content about your company
- Promote awareness for your brand and more
You can maximize the benefits of social media for your business by doing these simple tips:
Post Informative Content
Once you adopt social media as part of your HVAC advertising strategy, you need to ensure you’re consistently posting helpful content in various post types instead of sharing only promotional articles about your company.
Informative content provides value to your readers and is more likely to get a positive response. While it’s alright to publish a promotional post on occasion, posting blogs about the right time to schedule maintenance for an HVAC unit or how to spot problems with a particular HVAC system is more likely to get appreciated.
When coming up with the content plan for your blog or social media platforms, make sure you stick to high-quality and unique content. Covering topics that consumers already know about isn’t likely to gain much traction.
Monitor your Direct Messages and Comments Section
As I mentioned earlier, 57% of customers aren’t likely to utilize a business that doesn’t respond to reviews. Similarly, a company that leaves comments or direct messages unanswered gives the impression that it doesn’t care.
Nowadays, people view social media platforms as a customer service avenue. Therefore, it’s essential for you to adopt a proactive approach when sending your response.
Being attentive to comments also provides the opportunity for damage control when the need arises. If you get negative feedback that reflects on your business, addressing the concern in a timely manner is essential to show everybody that you care enough to act at once.
Maintaining a social media presence is one of the most effective ways to establish meaningful relationships with your customers. Apart from building a connection, social media is also critical in the process of retaining existing clients and earning new ones.
Try Sending Out Direct Mail
Direct mail is a thing of the past. This is how many businesses regard the approach, especially in this Internet era. In reality, this time-tested HVAC advertising approach is still very effective.
Statistics show that:
- Open rates for direct mail can be as high as 90%
- Direct mail responses are up to 9 times higher, compared to other advertising channels
- At least 42% of recipients scan, if not thoroughly read, the direct mail they receive
- About 54% of consumers prefer to know about existing promotions through direct mail
Granted that the term time-tested may not sound inviting, but the fact that it generates results can’t be denied. These numbers show why it’ll be a mistake to push aside or eliminate direct mail from your HVAC ads plan.
Use Consistent Marketing to Close More Sales
I will round up the list of proven HVAC ads strategies with another borderline-cliche statement — consistency is key.
Do you know that 80% of sales only occur after the fifth attempt or later? Apparently, most consumers don’t jump at every advertisement they come across with, and understandably so.
Most of the time, prospective clients will chance on your ad through direct mail, a banner ad, etc., and make a mental note about it if they think they’ll need your services at some point. The moment they see your ad for the second time, it will ring a bell since they have seen your HVAC ad before.
When these prospects see your ad for the third time, they’re likely to start developing a favorable opinion of your brand because they see you as a dependable and stable HVAC company, thanks to your consistency.
Don’t Take Customer Retention for Granted
According to the Harvard Business Review, the cost of finding a new client, in general, is from 5 up to 25 times higher than what companies spend on retaining an existing customer.
Considering these figures, you’d want to allocate a more significant portion of your HVAC marketing budget to keeping your existing clients happy. Make use of proven strategies to find out why customers you worked with before are unhappy and work on addressing their concerns.
When dealing with your clients, one of your top priorities is delivering excellent customer service. For example, when holding a promotion, you might want to consider your customers’ opinions by creating a poll. You can ask their preference between a deal on your AC repair packages or a lower rate on your equipment installation fees.
The data you’ll gather from such polls can help you understand your customers better. You can even use the information to improve how you manage highly beneficial customer relationships.
Bonus: Forge a Strong Bond with your Community
Forging strategic partnerships with businesses in your community will be beneficial for your HVAC company. For starters, you can offer your services to non-profit organizations in your area. You can benefit from that initiative in the form of publicity for your company. Also, consider being a part of professional trade groups in the HVAC industry. Top organizations include the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the Radiant Professionals Alliance (RPA), and the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR).
Key Takeaways
You need to keep in mind that advertising isn’t an exact science. More often than not, it might take far more or far fewer steps than the strategies we outlined to convert prospects into a client. Exert time and effort in growing your brand and building recognition as you work on your HVAC leads.
Even when you think you’ve come up with a process that the majority of your prospects respond well to, continue to tinker with it and your HVAC ads for even greater success.
Finally, in creating a productive HVAC marketing strategy, chances are you’re also using advertising strategies that other companies are using. Although this is the case, how effectively and efficiently you execute those strategies is what matters in the end.
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